Western Bulldogs coach Luke Beveridge displayed his disappointment after the Bulldogs' 22-point loss to Hawthorn with a bitter tone post-match, reflecting that wilting under Hawthorn's relentless pressure and skill errors were the key factors that saw the result swing in the Hawks' favour.
After an intense week of media scrutiny, Hawthorn responded following a 38-tackle display against the ladder-leading Magpies in Round 12, recording 82 on the night.
This pressure led to 68 turnovers from the Bulldogs, approximately eight more than their season average this season, while the Dogs also recorded a disposal efficiency of 68.1 per cent, down 5.5 on their season average.
Beveridge said not being able to withstand the Hawks' on-ball pressure for large periods of the game led to the Bulldogs recording their sixth loss on the year.
"It was disappointing, obviously the result and when you're discussing what is required and what's going to unfold in the game. I mean, everyone knew off the back of some bad press and some scrutiny over the last period of time that they were going to find a way in the contested and pressure stakes - and they did so they get the credit for that," Beveridge said.
"We knew we'd have to work our way through it, and I think that was a problem for a fair portion of the game. When we actually got out (of contested space), we put it back into pressure, and when we got out, we didn't use the ball particularly well.
"In the third quarter, we found a way to stay in it, and then it felt like we were coming, and then we just needed to get one or two on the scoreboard early in that last quarter, and the game's up for grabs.
"As much as the Hawks definitely got the upper hand with that side of the game, as probably as marginally as we were going, we were still in it, if we're searching for any sort of positives. But they had us in a stranglehold.
"The times where we looked like maybe we'd break out of it, they got us back in it. So, we're half and half, six-and-six, and we know that that's a part of our game that needs to improve for large portions of the game."
The Bulldogs have now recorded just one win from seven encounters against top-eight sides in 2025, albeit no margin of defeat has been greater than four goals.
Beveridge reflected that the losses still meant there was plenty of work to do to become one of the AFL's best clubs, despite the losses being competitive.
"I always think that to make the leap into the top part of the competition, that if you're getting beaten by 15 or 20 points here and there, it's more than that," Beveridge said.
"The margin on the scoreboard sometimes doesn't tell the full story. Whether it's not providing enough chances - 18 inside 50s in the first half just isn't going to be enough.
"It means our forwards are stale, they can't get into any sort of rhythm and and then what we've done in recent times against some of the better teams, in the pressure of the game, we've turned the ball over too often and too blatantly, and that's that's put us on the back foot at different times, and it's hard to get momentum in the game when you're doing that too often.
"So that's skill, that's game sense. Some of it's a surprise, some of it isn't, depending on who's doing it, so we've just got to keep doing our best to improve it, train it, and keep focusing on what we can achieve.
"I've been talking to players about making the leap, and that's what we're talking about. The growth keeps coming. Making the leap into that top upper echelon means individually, through the lines of the team, we've got to make more than just the link for improvement. We've got to make big ones, and so we're doing our best to explore and discover it."
The Bulldogs take on St Kilda in Round 14 in a critical clash to ensure the Dogs don't slip behind the pack in the chase for finals contention.
